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What is MMA?
Modern mixed martial arts emerged in 1993 with the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC), based on the concept of pitting different fighting styles against each other in competition with minimal rules, in an attempt to determine which system would be more effective in a real, unregulated combat situation. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, MMA competitions implemented additional rules for the safety of the athletes and to promote acceptance of the sport , while maintaining as much of the original no-holds-barred concept as possible. Since these changes, MMA has grown rapidly, to the point of setting pay-per-view records.
Overview
Though rules have been adopted, there is no general sanctioning body for the sport, and the sets of rules vary according to the laws of individual organizations and localities. It was thought that Olympic recognition would be forthcoming for the 2004 Summer Olympics , held in Athens , under the banner of pankration . However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was unconvinced that Greece could handle the total number of sports proposed. To placate the IOC, the organizers removed all new medal sports and pankration missed out.
The techniques utilized in MMA competition generally fall into two categories: striking techniques (such as kicks , knees and punches ) and grappling techniques (such as clinch holds , pinning holds , submission holds , sweeps , takedowns and throws ). Some unarmed hand to hand combat techniques are considered illegal in most or all modern MMA competition, such as biting , eye-gouging , fish-hooking and small joint manipulation . Over the last ten years, strikes to the groin have become illegal in all sanctioned MMA organizations. The legality of other techniques such as elbows , headbutts and spinal locks vary according to competition or organization.
A victory in an MMA bout is normally gained by the judges' decision after an allotted amount of time has elapsed, a stoppage by the referee or the fight doctor (in the event that the competitor is injured or can no longer defend himself intelligently), a submission , by a competitor's cornerman throwing in the towel, or by knockout .
While MMA competition is occasionally depicted as brutal by the media, there has never been a death or crippling injury in a sanctioned MMA event in North America. The only verified fatality in MMA competition is the 1998 death of Douglas Dedge in a fight in Ukraine. There are unconfirmed reports that Dedge had a pre-existing medical condition prior to the fight.
History
Pre-modern
Some no-holds-barred events reportedly took place in the late 1800s when wrestlers representing a huge range of fighting styles including various catch wrestling styles, Greco-Roman wrestling and many others met in tournaments and music-hall challenge matches throughout Europe [citation needed] . The first major encounter between a boxer and a wrestler in modern times took place in 1887 when John L. Sullivan , then heavyweight boxing champion of the world, entered the ring with his trainer, the Greco-Roman wrestling champion, William Muldoon , and was slammed to the mat in two minutes. The next publicized encounter occurred in the late 1890s when future heavyweight boxing champion Bob Fitzsimmons took on European Greco-Roman wrestling champion Ernest Roeber . Reportedly, Roeber suffered a fractured cheekbone in this bout, but was able to get Fitzsimmons down on the mat, where he applied an arm lock and made the boxer submit. In 1936, heavyweight boxing contender Kingfish Levinsky and the veteran professional wrestler Ray Steele competed in a mixed match, which Steele won in 35 seconds. In all three of these 'mixed-matches', the wrestler won.
Another early example of MMA combat was the martial art of Bartitsu , founded in London in 1899 , which was the first martial art known to have combined Asian and European fighting styles, and which saw MMA-style contests throughout England, pitting European and Japanese champions against representatives of various European wrestling styles.
Boxing vs. jujitsu contests were popular entertainments throughout Europe, Japan and the Pacific Rim during the early years of the 1900s. In Japan these contests were known as Merikan, from the Japanese slang for "American (fighting)". Merikan contests were fought under a variety of rules including point’s decision, best of three throws or knock-downs, and knock-out/submission.
Professional wrestling died out after World War I and was reborn in two streams: "shoot ", in which the fighters actually competed, and "show ," which evolved into modern sports entertainment professional wrestling .
Modern
MMA reached a new peak of popularity in the rematch between light-heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell (R) and former champion Tito Ortiz (L), rivaling the PPV sales of some of the biggest boxing events of all time, and helping the UFC's 2006 PPV gross surpass that of any promotion in PPV history.
The concept of combining various combat disciplines has gained some popularity in the late 1960's and early 1970's with the emergence of Bruce Lee and his theories of hybrid fighting. Lee believed that "the best fighter is not a Boxer, Karate or Judo man. The best fighter is someone who can adapt to any style. He kicks too well for a Boxer, throws too good for a Karate man, and punches too good for a Judo man."
Mixed martial arts gained real international exposure and widespread publicity in the US in 1993, when Royce Gracie won the first Ultimate Fighting Championship , sparking a revolution in the martial arts. In Japan in 1997, the continued interest in the sport eventually resulted in the creation of the PRIDE Fighting Championships . In 2007 the owners of UFC bought PRIDE, creating strong ties between the two largest MMA promoters, and drawing comparisons to the consolidation that occurred in other sports, such as the AFL-NFL Merger in American football .
Evolution of MMA fighters
As a result of the MMA sporting events, martial arts training and the understanding of the combat effectiveness of various strategies have changed dramatically over the last ten years.
The early years of the sport saw the widest possible variety of traditional styles - everything from sumo to kickboxing - but the continual evolution of the sport has practically eliminated less effective and "pure" styles, usually because specialized fighters were lacking in skills to deal effectively with broader techniques.
In the early 1990s , three styles stood out for their effectiveness in MMA competition: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu , Amateur wrestling and Shoot wrestling . This may be attributable in part to the grappling emphasis of the aforementioned styles, which, perhaps due to the scarcity of mixed martial arts competitions prior to the early 90s, had been neglected by most practitioners of striking -based arts.
Even though fighters that combined amateur wrestling and striking techniques dominated the standing portion of an MMA fight, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu stylists had a distinct advantage on the ground. Those unfamiliar with submission grappling proved to be unprepared to deal with its submission techniques . Shoot wrestling practitioners offered a balance of amateur wrestling ability and catch wrestling based submissions resulting in a generally well rounded set of skills. The shoot wrestlers were especially successful in Japan , where the martial art initially dominated other arts.
As MMA competitions became more and more commonplace, those with a base in striking became more competitive as they began to acquaint themselves with takedowns and submission holds , leading to some notable upsets against the dominant grapplers . Subsequently those from the various grappling styles learned from each other's strengths and shortcomings and added striking techniques to their arsenal. This overall development of increased cross-training resulted in the MMA fighters becoming increasingly multi-dimensional and well rounded in their skills.
Phases of combat
Training
Today, mixed martial artists train in a variety of styles that have been proven effective in the ring, so that they can be effective in all the phases of combat. Although MMA fighters will try to play to their particular specialties, they will inevitably encounter all kinds of situations; a stand-up fighting specialist will probably get taken down at some point and a submission artist might need to fight standing-up for a while before he can complete a takedown. A mixed martial artist might train in a particular style to enhance his or her skills in the phase of combat that the style encompasses. Typical styles, known for their effectiveness, that have been trained prior to the MMA career, and that are trained individually to enhance a particular phase of combat, are:
MMA competition requires training in striking, wrestling, and submission fighting.
Many styles have to be adapted slightly for use in the sport. For example, several boxing stances are ineffective because they leave fighters vulnerable to leg kicks or takedowns. Similarly, Judo techniques have to be adapted to an opponent not wearing a judogi . Commonly, modern day MMA fighters do not train in any particular style, but either train in multiple styles with multiple coaches, or train in teams with other MMA athletes focusing specifically on MMA fighting. Energy system training , speed drills , strength training and flexibility are also important aspects of an MMA fighter's training. Mixed martial arts competition is very demanding physically, and the athletes need to be in top shape to be successful.
While MMA was initially practiced almost exclusively by competitive fighters, this is no longer the case. As MMA has become more mainstream and widely taught it has become available to all ages. Proponents of this sort of training argue that it is safe for anyone, of any age, with varying levels of competition.
Strategies
The following are various nicknames applied to different fighting styles. Although fighters are usually much more versed in one fighting style such as Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Wrestling, Judo, et cetera, the following terms are used to describe how a particular fighter is attempting to accomplish a particular victory. For instance, BJ Penn and Fedor Emelianenko score victories both striking, "ground and pounding," and submitting depending on the strengths of their opponents. Furthermore, some styles are not complete styles; rather, they are merely phases in a fighter's game.
Sprawl-and-brawl
A sprawl-and-brawler is usually a boxer , kickboxer , Thai boxer and/or full contact karate fighter who has trained in wrestling to avoid takedowns and tries to keep the fight standing. Usually these fighters will study enough submission wrestling so that in the unfortunate event that they are taken down to the ground, they can tie their opponents up and survive long enough to either get back to standing or until the referee restarts the fight. This style is deceptively different from regular kickboxing styles, since sprawl-and-brawlers must adapt their techniques to incorporate takedown and ground fighting defense.
Clinch Fighting
Clinch fighting is a tactic that consists of using a clinch hold to prevent the opponent from moving away into more distant striking range, while at the same time attempting takedowns and striking the opponent using various techniques.
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